Chapter 4

The next morning, I was in Lily' s room, helping her choose a dress for school. The door creaked open without a knock, and Sophia waltzed in. She was wearing a new silk robe, and she made a show of stretching, extending her hand so that the morning light caught the enormous diamond ring on her finger.

"Morning," she said, her voice smug. She waggled her fingers. "Leo gave it to me last night. A pre-birthday present. Isn' t it gorgeous?"

I ignored her, focusing on a button on Lily' s dress. But Sophia wasn't done. She walked over to Lily' s small bookshelf, her eyes scanning the titles.

I suddenly remembered all the other times she had done this, barging into our private spaces, touching our things with a sense of ownership. I remembered her "borrowing" my favorite sweater and "accidentally" staining it, her "innocent" questions to Leo about why I needed my own studio when I barely sold any paintings. I had dismissed it all as teenage pettiness. Now I saw it for what it was: a calculated campaign to erase me. Leo had always brushed off my concerns, telling me I was being "too sensitive" and that Sophia just "admired" me.

"You' re still trying for this divorce, then?" Sophia asked, picking up one of Lily's drawings. She looked at it with disdain. "Leo told me you had another one of your little tantrums."

I stood up, my body tense. "This is a private conversation, Sophia. And this is Lily' s room."

She laughed, a high, condescending sound. "Oh, please. This whole house is Leo' s. We' re all just living in it." She turned her gaze to Lily, who was watching with wide, nervous eyes. "It must be so hard for him, having to deal with you. And with her." She gestured dismissively at Lily. "Such a burden."

A red-hot fury surged through me. It was one thing for her to attack me, but to call my child a burden, to her face...

"What did you just say?" I asked, my voice low and trembling.

Lily' s eyes filled with tears. "Am I a burden, Mommy?" she whispered.

That was it. In that moment, years of repressed anger, humiliation, and pain erupted. I crossed the room in two strides.

"Get out," I snarled.

Sophia just smirked. "Make me."

Before I even knew what I was doing, my hand flew up and I slapped her, hard, across the face. The sound echoed in the small room.

"Don' t you ever," I seethed, grabbing her arm, "ever speak about my daughter like that again. Stay away from her. Do you understand me?"

Sophia' s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed with venom. The smirk was gone, replaced by a look of pure hatred. But before she could retaliate, she heard footsteps in the hall. Her expression shifted in an instant. Her face crumpled, tears sprang to her eyes, and she let out a loud, theatrical sob.

Leo appeared in the doorway. "What' s going on?"

"She hit me!" Sophia cried, pointing a trembling finger at me. "I just came in to say good morning, and she attacked me! She' s just jealous of the ring, Leo! She' s jealous of us!"

Leo' s gaze fell on the red mark blooming on Sophia' s cheek, then shifted to me. His face was thunderous. He didn' t ask for my side of the story. He didn' t even hesitate.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Ava?" he roared, striding towards me. "You hit her? A child?"

"She called Lily a burden!" I tried to explain, my voice cracking.

"Mommy didn' t mean it!" Lily cried, running to Leo and tugging on his pants. "The lady was being mean!"

Leo didn' t even look down. He brushed her away with his leg, a small, impatient shove that sent Lily stumbling backward. She fell to the floor with a soft thud.

Everything stopped. The sound of Sophia' s fake sobs, the blood roaring in my ears, all of it faded away. All I could see was my little girl on the floor, looking up at her father with an expression of stunned betrayal. He hadn' t just ignored her, he had physically pushed her aside. For Sophia.

In that single, brutal moment, I saw him for who he truly was. Not just neglectful, not just cruel, but a man completely devoid of any paternal love for his own child. He was a monster wearing the mask of a father. My heart didn't just break, it shattered into dust. I felt nothing. It was over.

Sophia, seeing her victory was complete, played her final card. She let out a choked gasp, clutched her chest as if she couldn' t breathe, and ran out of the room.

"Sophia!" Leo yelled, his rage instantly turning to panic. He shot me one last look of pure disgust. "You see what you' ve done?"

He ran after her, his footsteps pounding down the stairs, his voice calling her name with a desperation he had never, not once, used for me or for Lily.

He chased her right out of the house, leaving me and my daughter completely, utterly alone.